Where Do Economists of Faith Hang Out? Their Journals and Associations, plus Luminaries Among Them

Abstract

Many economists who are religious find ways to interact with each other through associations, journals, and institutes. Often, these organizations encourage participants to explore potential connections between their faith and their profession. The networks are, however, somewhat hidden to the average economist. In this exploratory paper, I locate networks that identify their constituency as Jewish, Christian, or Muslim economists, as well as those that are more religiously inclusive. I provide basic information about their economic perspectives and religious affiliations or suppositions. The second task is to determine who among religious economists are making the greatest contributions, to the dialogue of faith and economics and to the profession of economics as a whole. Both the first and second tasks are complicated by the fact that many economists who are religious do not identify themselves as such in their writing. Nevertheless, this process of discovery turns up some fascinating names and issues, many of which are explicitly explored in the rest of this symposium.